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History
in a Pecan Shell
In the 1870s (so the story goes) two cowboys named Hart and Greenwood noticed
that the site where they were camping had no names. The creek where they were
camped was named Hart’s Creek while the town-to-be was named Greenwood.
Indians
were still a threat during this period and a settler named Wag Wilson build a
fortified ranch headquarters here while Tenvill Cecil built the town’s first cabin.
A post office was granted in 1877 and seven years later the community had 75 residents.
By 1892, Greenwood had a population of 200 and a Male and Female Normal College
was opened. The building burned in 1908.
In 1914 Greenwood had telephone
service, four grocery stores and three general stores but after several fires,
the businesses suffered severe losses while the population was reduced by one
half.
Greenwood actually gained population during the Great Depression,
peaking at 314 residents in the 1930s. A new stone school was built by the WPA,
but by 1937 this new school was merged with the one in Slidell.
The Greenwood elementary school merged with its counterpart in Slidell
and by 1949 the population was 200. Greenwood had another tragedy in the form
of a main street fire in the early 1950s that consumed half the downtown area.
The businesses never rebuilt and the empty building were used for hay storage.
Beginning in the mid 1970s, Greenwood reported 76 citizens – the same number used
for the 2000 census. |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history and vintage/historic/contemporary
photos of Greenwood, Texas or their town/subject, please contact
us. | |
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